Passaic County

POVERTY BY AGE

While they say little about economic ups and downs in the decade between
Censuses, income and poverty data provide us with economic "snapshots" of
an area at the time of enumeration that can in turn be compared with
economic data gathered from earlier Censuses. Poverty status, as measured in this chart, is determined by Poverty Thresholds, which take into account a number of factors,
including income
and family size
and structure.
For example, the 2000 Poverty Threshold for a family of four in the continental United States with two related children was 17,463. However, Poverty Thresholds are misleading because they do not provide an accurate picture of what a “poor” family’s life is like. According to the National Center for Children in poverty, most families of four would have to make twice
their assigned Poverty Threshold in order to provide their children with basic necessities, such as housing, food, and health care.

Poverty by Age, 1990 and 2000

1990

2000

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Total Population*

443,430

100.00%

481,200

100.00%

In Poverty

44,556

10.05%

59,072

12.28%

Not in Poverty

398,874

89.95%

422,128

87.72%

11 Years and Under

72,496

16.35%

86,956

18.07%

In Poverty

11,857

2.67%

15,755

3.27%

Not in Poverty

60,639

13.67%

71,201

14.80%

12 to 17 Years

34,977

7.89%

38,401

7.98%

In Poverty

5,216

1.18%

6,326

1.31%

Not in Poverty

29,761

6.71%

32,075

6.67%

18 to 64 Years

280,321

63.22%

299,074

62.15%

In Poverty

21,852

4.93%

31,743

6.60%

Not in Poverty

258,469

58.29%

267,331

55.56%

65 Years and Above

55,636

12.55%

56,769

11.80%

In Poverty

5,631

1.27%

5,248

1.09%

Not in Poverty

50,005

11.28%

51,521

10.71%

* The total population is the population for which poverty status is determined. Therefore, the total in this table should not be expected to match the total population in the population growth topic.